Lame Adventure 300: Blogologues, the Spawn of Blogging and Theater

I confess that I am one of the most anti-social networking blockheads with a blog. I space my tweets several months apart, I’m on Facebook under a pseudonym, I comment on very few fellow blogger’s sites and it took me at least a year into writing Lame Adventures before I realized that blogging etiquette requires that I respond to readers that take the time to post comments.

One fellow blogger that I did have the brain cells to respond to was Natasia over at hotfemmeinthecity.wordpress.com. Obviously, my thoughts were instantly provoked when I heard from her because I liked the allusion to sunny urban weather in her blog’s name. <cough> Recently, she referred me to one of her blogger buddies, a very talented humorist, Jessica Schnall, who writes Alone with Cats. Jessica emailed me about Blogologues, the brainchild of co-creators Allison Goldberg and Jen Jamula.

Jen Jamula (left) and Allison Goldberg (right).

Jess is the “third wheel” in this enterprise and was looking for bloggers to see the show and write about it on their sites. Alli and Jen are also the Co-Artistic Directors of Lively Productions. Now that I’ve seen Blogologues current production, Younger Than Springtime, they have my nomination for a MacArthur Genius Grant. I realize that my endorsement will probably get them evicted from their homes, a pair of plantar warts, and a Darwin Award instead.

"Can you just focus on endorsing the show?"

I think that’s tragic. Why Alli and Jen are such deserving forward thinkers is that they scour the internet for blog posts and other web-based gems that they then stage verbatim. They have turned blogging, often viewed as a bottom feeding, self-serving outlet for attention whores, into a highly entertaining hour of brisk comedy theater gold. Before any bloggers reading this squeal:

Any Bloggers Reading This (squealing): Hey, I have a blog! I’m funny! Sign me up!

There’s no application process to Blogologues. They find you. So, keep writing those funny posts and keep your fingers, legs and eyes crossed. For the back-story about WordPress blogger Jessica, read Natasia’s interview with her here.

Younger Than Springtime is comprised of sixteen blog posts crisply directed by David Hilder. The posts are interspersed with jokes found on various web sites (Twitter, Texts from Last Night, Damn You Autocorrect, When Parents Text, Funny Siri, Overhead In New York, etc.) that are projected on a screen. The show is an energetic production performed by an ensemble of five actors with impressive skills and spot on comic timing as they slip from one persona into another.

Every member of the troupe had several standout moments, far too many to recount here. I particularly loved Jen Jamula’s take on Gwyneth Paltrow as depicted in a post written by Amanda Miller from brilliantsulk.com. I read the original post but what made the post even funnier was the addition of Wendy Joy as GP’s subservient maid.

Jen Jamula as a sorority girl reading a post written by Natalia Darque published on smashwords.com.

Blogologues opens up the source material. A post about blooming trees that is barely 100 words long that was published in livejournal.com was significantly more hilarious when set in the 18th Century and recited in a pompously serious tone by Dave Thomas Brown in the guise of a founding father-type. Allison Goldberg deserves a standing o for a physical joke at the top of the skit that elicited a loud and sustained audience howl. Ironically this bit of slapstick humor was not written in the source material. They turned this diamond-in-the-rough post into a gleaming comic jewel.

The show winds down with Matthew Cox, a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, portraying the protagonist in a delightfully harebrained post written by Daniel O’Brien, senior writer for cracked.com, that sends up The Hunger Games. The precise choreography is sidesplitting as the four other members of the ensemble scramble re-enacting key moments from the film while Matthew tells Daniel’s tale. Wendy Joy rates a particularly loud shout-out here. Her contribution to the antics brought to mind Amy Poehler.

Matthew Cox and Jen Jamula performing David Holub's "A Word to the Graduates" posted on mcsweeneys.net.

This show is consistently funny and has something for just about everyone as it takes on allergies, various types of humiliation, 4th Graders, Passover, finger gloves, Ryan Gosling, sorority girls, commencement speeches, and that reliable chestnut, outdoor sex.

Dave Thomas Brown waving his gloves that are just for fingers posted by Helen Killer on regretsy.com.

This hybrid of comic blog posts cross-pollinated with theater begs to be seen by a wider audience in other cities as wells as New York. For now BlogologuesYounger Than Springtime is currently playing Thursday through Saturday through May 5th at The Players Theatre in Greenwich Village.

The Players Theatre located at 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village.

The legendary Minetta Tavern located directly across the street from The Players Theatre.

The suitcase that reeked of skunk I stood next to as I photographed The Players Theatre and the Minetta Tavern.

If you’re a fan of blogs and comedy, and you live near or not too far, Blogologues is a fun date-night show based on a concept that has the potential to catch fire. Tickets are $18 and in a show of off-off-Broadway audience appreciation this price includes a free drink and a vial of soap bubbles. Life is fun at Blogologues.

It’s up your alley, buddy — a nice balance of silly and snarky with some strategically placed f-bombs. It’s a show that I think would be well received in major cities throughout the country but then again, my crystal ball assured me back in the day that Cyndi Lauper would annihilate Madonna …Yet, this time I think the signal’s working properly.

i know the blogologues! haven’t been yet, but i’ve been listing their shows on the site i manage, hangalong.com. would love to chat with you about it, we can definitely provide you with some ideas for future adventures. would you mind if i shared this blog post on our FB page?

Hey Lisa, I wouldn’t mind at all at all if you share this post on your FB page especially since I haven’t looked at my own in, I dunno, three months? Seriously, let’s get the word out about Blogologues. It’s a fresh take on blogging and theater!

I would love to see the Blogologues, unfortunately living in the UK it looks like I’m just going to have to wait until I’m next out in the States! I think this is a great form of theatre though, and a great way of keeping performances current – as Lecoq said, the best theatre is that which is rooted in real life!

For the current show, Lorna, Blogologues is limited to playing only in NYC. I suggest you follow Jen and Alli’s web site, FB and/or Twitter feeds to keep an eye on them. Possibly one day Blogologues will cross the pond! Thanks for visiting Lame Adventures-land.